The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Chrysanthemum plant, botanically known as Dendranthema grandiflora and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name Yomelissa.
The new cultivar is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Salinas, Calif. and Alva, Fla. The objective of the breeding program is to create new garden-type Chrysanthemum cultivars having inflorescences with desirable inflorescence forms, attractive floret colors and good garden performance.
The new cultivar originated from a cross made by the Inventor in Salinas, Calif., in December, 1995, of the Dendranthema grandiflora cultivar Debonair, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 5,324, as the female, or seed, parent with an unidentified proprietary seedling selection as the male, or pollen, parent.
The cultivar Yomelissa was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross in a controlled environment in Alva, Fla. in November, 1996. The selection of this plant was based on its desirable inflorescence form, attractive ray floret color and excellent garden performance.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by terminal cuttings taken in a controlled environment in Alva, Fla. has shown that the unique features of this new Chrysanthemum are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.